Overseers and deacons: the two offices of 1 Timothy 3

First Timothy is the first of Paul's Pastoral Letters. It names Paul as author (1:1) and addresses Timothy, his younger co-worker, whom Paul left in Ephesus to correct false teaching (1:3-4). The traditional dating places the letter after Acts, about AD 62-65, when Paul had gone on to Macedonia (1:3). Many critical scholars date it later and think a follower of Paul wrote it in his name; the class follows the traditional view and notes the dispute. Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and a Greek father (Acts 16:1-3), had worked with Paul from the second journey, and had been sent to several churches (1 Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 2:19-23).

Ephesus was the largest city of the province of Asia, with a church Paul had founded on his third journey (Acts 19), and its elders had been charged by Paul with the care of the flock (Acts 20:17-31). The false teachers Paul describes had grown up from within: some wanted to be teachers of the law without understanding it (1:6-7), others forbade marriage and certain foods (4:1-3), and some loved controversies and money (6:4-5, 10). Chapter 2 deals with worship and chapter 3 with the people who lead it. Paul says why he writes: he hopes to come soon, but wants the church to know, in case of delay, 'how each one must conduct himself in God's household' (3:14-15).

First Timothy 3 is a section of instruction in a letter from an apostle to a delegate, and it follows a pattern. It opens with a saying (3:1), gives qualifications for one office (3:2-7), repeats the pattern for another (3:8-13), and closes with the purpose and a confession (3:14-16). The qualifications are descriptions of character. They resemble the lists in Titus 1:6-9 but are not identical, and a reader has to compare them rather than treat either as a complete code. Most of the qualities in 1 Timothy 3 are what Paul would ask of any mature Christian; the point is that those who lead must show them first.

The passage needs attention to what it does not say. Paul does not say how many overseers a church was to have, whether any was above the others, or what authority deacons held. He does not describe the work of an overseer beyond caring for the church (3:5) and teaching (3:2), or the work of a deacon beyond serving. The relation of the two offices to elders must be taken from other passages. The class reads Acts 20:17, 28, Philippians 1:1 and Titus 1:5-7 alongside this chapter, and treats the later development of the offices as history and argument, not as part of the text.

The passage should be read with its end. Paul says what the instructions are for: that Timothy may know how to conduct himself in God's household, 'the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth' (3:15). The hymn that follows (3:16) is the center of the chapter, not an afterthought.

Verse 1

'This is a trustworthy saying: If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble task.' The saying is one of the 'trustworthy sayings' of the Pastoral Letters (1:15; 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11; Titus 3:8). 'Aspires' (oregetai) and 'desires' (epithymei) are strong verbs for reaching and wanting, and the word translated 'overseer' here is the noun for the work or office (episkope). Peter uses the same noun in Acts 1:20, quoting Psalm 109:8, for the 'office' of Judas that another was to take. Paul calls the work 'noble' (kalon ergon, a good work). The desire for it is approved; the question is who is fit.

Verses 2–3

'An overseer, then, must be above reproach.' The first quality (anepilemptos) is the same idea as 'blameless' in Titus 1:6-7. The list that follows has three groups. In marriage and household: 'the husband of but one wife' and a manager of his own house (3:2, 4). In temper and habits: temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, 'not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.' In teaching: 'able to teach' (didaktikos). This is the only skill in the list and is the only quality that sets overseers apart from deacons, since deacons are not asked to teach.

Verses 4–5

'He must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity.' The verb for managing (proistemi) is used of elders who 'lead' in 5:17 and of the gift of leading in Romans 12:8. The argument in verse 5 is one of comparison: if a man does not know how to manage his own household, 'how can he care for the church of God?' The verb for care (epimeleomai) is used of the Samaritan who looked after the wounded man (Luke 10:34-35). The household is the training ground of the church, because the church is itself God's household (3:15).

Verses 6–7

'He must not be a recent convert' (neophytos, literally newly planted) 'or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.' This may mean the judgment the devil received for his pride, or the judgment the devil brings; either way pride is the danger. He must also have 'a good reputation with outsiders' so he will not fall into disgrace and 'the snare of the devil.' A leader's life is judged by those outside the church too.

Verses 8–10

'Deacons likewise' (diakonoi) are to be dignified, not double-tongued, not given to much wine or greedy for money. They must 'hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.' They are to 'be tested first,' and if there is no charge against them, they serve. Paul asks for no skill in teaching, but they are to hold the faith with a clear conscience, so the deacon's life rests on the same gospel as the overseer's.

Verse 11

'In the same way, the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things.' The Greek is simply gynaikas, 'women' or 'wives.' There is no 'their,' and the word 'likewise' (hosautos) repeats the word that introduced the deacons in verse 8. The ambiguity is taken up in the tradition note.

Verses 12–13

Deacons are to be the husband of one wife and good managers of their children and households. Those who 'have served well as deacons acquire for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.' 'Standing' (bathmos) is a step or position; 'confidence' (parresia) is boldness, a word used of speaking freely before God. The reward is not rank in the church but a firmer faith.

Verses 14–16

Paul writes so Timothy will know how to act 'in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.' The church is not the source of truth but its support and base. Paul then quotes what he calls 'the common confession,' probably a hymn: 'the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.' Some manuscripts read 'God' for 'He,' and most scholars hold that the original was the relative pronoun 'who.' Many scholars see the six lines as three pairs, moving between earth and heaven.

The New Testament names two local offices in this chapter and in Philippians 1:1, where Paul greets the overseers and deacons together with all the saints at Philippi. Titus 1:5-7 joins the overseer to the elder. The qualifications make clear that both offices rest on character before ability, and that the household is the first test. They also show that office is not the whole of ministry: the gifts of Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12 belong to the whole body, and the offices serve it.

What the New Testament does not state is as important. It never calls a deacon an assistant to the overseer, and 3:8-13 does not describe the deacon's work. Acts 6:1-6 and Romans 16:1 show that service of this kind existed, and class 10 takes up that evidence. First Timothy 3 also leaves open how many overseers a church had. It speaks of 'an overseer' in the singular, but the Greek singular with the article is used in a general sense, as it is of 'the deacon' in verse 12 and of 'the laborer' in 5:18. Titus 1:5-7 moves from 'elders' to 'the overseer' with no change of subject, and Philippians 1:1 has overseers in the plural.

The chapter ties the offices to the gospel. The church is God's household, in which the living God dwells (3:15), a description that echoes the Old Testament temple and is developed in Ephesians 2:19-22 and 1 Peter 2:5. The hymn of 3:16 then states what that household holds: the incarnation, the vindication of Jesus in the resurrection, his witness among angels and nations, and his ascension.

• First Timothy 3:16 is a summary of Christ's whole work in six lines. 'He appeared in the flesh' states the incarnation (compare John 1:14; Romans 8:3). 'Was vindicated by the Spirit' probably refers to his resurrection and the Spirit's confirmation of him as the Son (compare Romans 1:4). 'Was seen by angels' points to the heavenly witnesses of his birth, temptation, resurrection and ascension (compare Luke 2:13-14; Matthew 4:11; Acts 1:10-11). 'Was proclaimed among the nations' fulfills the promise that all nations would be blessed through Abraham's offspring (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:8, 16).
• The last two lines, belief in the world and the taking up in glory, describe the gospel's result and Christ's exaltation (Acts 1:9; Ephesians 4:8-10). The 'mystery' of godliness is a person.

The two offices point to him in two ways. The overseer shares in the work of the Shepherd and Overseer of souls (1 Peter 2:25), who also called himself the good shepherd (John 10:11). The deacon shares in service that Christ himself performed. Jesus said that the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), and that he is among his disciples as one who serves (Luke 22:27). Paul calls Christ a servant (diakonos) to the circumcised (Romans 15:8). Both offices are therefore under Christ's example, and neither is a rank above his servants.

The church as God's household also points to him: Hebrews 3:6 says that Christ is the Son over God's house and that believers are that house, and 1 Peter 2:4-5 calls believers living stones built on the living Stone. The temple image echoes the Old Testament tabernacle and temple, where God dwelt among his people, now fulfilled in a people indwelt by him.